Why Matthew Perry Avoided Watching 'Friends' Before His Death
'Friends' season 10
Fans everywhere are remembering their favorite Friends moments featuring Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, but according to the actor before his death, he couldn't ever watch the show himself.
While speaking with Tom Power late last year around the release of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, Perry explained that he would always be able to place where he was in his battle with addiction depending on how he looked in each season of the sitcom.
"I didn’t watch the show and haven’t watched the show because I could go drinking…opiates…drinking…cocaine," Perry said. "Like I could tell season by season by how I looked."
The late actor noted that he couldn't ignore this whenever he attempted to watch the show: “And I don’t think anybody else can, but I certainly could. And that’s why I don’t want to watch it because that’s what I see, that’s what I noticed when I watch it.”
While speaking with Power, Perry also shared that he was reconsidering whether or not he would watch the show, telling the interviewer, “But I think I’m going to start to watch it because, first of all, it was an incredible ride. But it's been an incredible thing to watch it touch the hearts of different generations."
He seemed to decide then and there that he would give it a go, adding, "It’s become this important, significant thing and I, you know, I would watch that again," but it's unclear if Perry ever did so before his death.
Perry went into even more detail regarding his addiction struggles throughout the filming of Friends in his memoir, explaining that whatever he was under the influence at the time was reflected in his physical appearance.
He wrote, "When I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny, it’s pills. When I have a goatee, it’s lots of pills. By the end of season three, I was spending most of my time figuring out how to get 55 Vicodin a day — I had to have 55 every day, otherwise I’d get so sick."
The star was very honest about his lifelong battle with addiction, especially in the year before his death, and Perry made many efforts to help others also struggling in any way he could.
Next: Matthew Perry Fans Recall Actor’s Wish to be Remembered for Helping Others Over Friends
